By: Nancy and Charles Nevil, London to London, May/June, 2009
Today day six, is Dublin Day and the dawn broke gray and cloudy. The morning temperature is about 52 degrees and humidity 79%. Not at all promising; if the rain comes, we’ll just have to find a friendly pub and while away the hours or get back to the ship. Hopefully, the weather will improve and once on shore, a fun time of exploration can be had by all.
Irish luck smiled on us and while the day was not brilliant, there were occasional moments of sun with NO rain. Dublin is a lovely city with great museums, a wonderful university, and lots of shopping. We walked up and down Grafton Street, the main shopping area, explored our favorite areas, and then, it was time to fulfill a promise made long ago, to visit Jameson Distilleries and take a tour. Jameson is a smooth Irish Whiskey (Ireland and the U.S. Spell it with an e – all others do not) and one of the best cold remedies we know of (learned this years ago from a driver who had taken us from the west to the east coast of this wonderful country. When your voice fails and you can’t speak, go for the Jameson). The tour was really informative and fun. To get to the Distillery, we had to take a long walk along the River Liffy passing many familiar areas.
After the Tour, we walked over to the Temple Bar district, a happening club and pub area near The Liffy, filled with happy locals and visitors. Lunch in an Irish Pub was outstanding. Then, with tired tootsies, it was time to get back to our ship and get some rest.
Tomorrow, Cork beckons. We love this country and its people. Ireland is just a wonderful (and extraordinarily clean) place to visit.
(As a side note, during dinner, about an hour out of Dublin, our ship made a sharp U Turn. On one side of the dining room we saw a lot of sea through the windows and on the other, a lot of sky.) Shortly thereafter, our Captain announced that we were returning to Dublin so that a lady with a medical emergency could be taken to hospital, Once the woman had been safely taken ashore, we resumed our sail and seem to be right on time for our landing in Cork at the port of Cobh, Once again, Silversea handled the situation quietly and with dignity. Hopefully, our shipmate will be well quickly.
Our next stop was Cobh (pronounced Cove), where gray and threatening clouds made the day ahead look a bit ominous. This is the harbor where we docked in order to gain entry to the town of Cork, which was our destination. It seemed too dreary for fun ashore, but the leprechauns once again smiled and by 8 AM, the sun shone and only a few scattered dark clouds marred the horizon. It was cold and windy as we walked along the waterfront, climbed a steep hill to visit a beautiful Cathedral and enjoy the vista below. Even though this is a very small village, Cobh does have some rather historical maritime history. It was the last port of call on the Titanic’s maiden voyage, and The Lusitania was sunk off Cork Harbor during WW1. There are memorials to both tragedies in the town very close to the cruise terminal.
Having spent a good deal of time in Cork on a prior visit, considering the on again, off again weather, we decided to spend the afternoon on board just reading, writing, and relaxing. There will be an Irish Folkloric show being put on by locals and we’ll enjoy that in the late afternoon. From 5 year olds to teenagers, these little charmers will step dance their way into our hearts.
Today is June 6th, D Day, and as we watch the ceremonies on TV, the sense of being so close to those hallowed grounds, fills us with emotions that cannot be described. In past years, we have walked those grounds, we have sensed the oneness of our world and we wonder why war, war for any reason, in any place, continues to be a part of our lives. The tens of thousands of dead young man lying under the green grass are an ongoing testament to such lunacy, but their memories will live on in honor.
The rain is falling as evening comes and soon, we’ll be leaving The Irish Republic for our return to the UK. Economic conditions in Ireland are particularly depressed, for this nation, as a member of the European Union, had soaring growth for many years. Companies came from all over the world to manufacture their products here and sell them to the E.U. There was a shortage of labor and many who had emigrated, retuned to Ireland to take advantage of the good life here. Now, there is high unemployment, many closed businesses and of course, houses for sale everywhere. But it is still sweet, beautiful, happy, and forever Ireland. Hopefully, the good days will come again.
A closing Irish thought: no matter how small the town or village, it seems to us there are four things you will always find, a Church, a Pub, a Pizzeria, and a Chinese Restaurant. Spiritual and gastronomic nourishment at it’s Irish best!
Day eight’s dawn was grim. The weather report on ship’s TV indicated morning showers followed by heavy afternoon rains. Not promising, but we have been lucky so far. With only two ports to go (Fowey in Cornwall and Portsmouth, our final land stop), we just keep hoping our good fortune will remain. The ship slowed as we neared our destination and rays of sunshine poked through cloudy skies. As we slowly worked down the channel toward beautiful Fowey (pronounced Foy), the scenery became so picturesque that it resembled a picture postcard. Colorful little houses dotted the hills around us, small pleasure craft bobbed along the waterway as slowly and silently, we crept to our mooring and dropped anchor, ready for tenders to carry us to the shore.
Fowey is a Cornish village steeped in maritime history and known for inspiring famous authors such as Daphne du Maurier. The narrow winding streets are filled with shops and galleries in the main part of town. As you walk up winding single lane roads into the hills, you are treated to beautiful views of the harbor below. Restaurants, bars, and hotels are abundant, and the locals are warm and welcoming. Even in the rain (yes it did drizzle), walking along the Esplanade to the pristine beach at the end of the road, is a delightful journey into the past. We had visited here once before and were not impressed by the experience. This time, however, we were charmed and would love to return in the future. We tendered back to the ship a few steps ahead of the advancing rain. After lunch, when we looked to the shore, rays of sun were once again bathing the landscape. The skies are darkening now but the streets are dry as we get ready to sail for Portsmouth and our last day of this adventure at sea.
It’s been a busy Sunday. Roger Federer won the French Open, Britain and the EU are in the midst of serious election battles. As we write, the anchor is being raised so that we can, as silently as we came in this morning, leave this sweet Cornwall area and head for our final stop at Portsmouth, wending our way back to London, and the end of this cruise.
Day nine of the cruise is here. Portsmouth lies in our view ahead and the sun is shining on this last day of our exploration. We will be here until 6 tonight and then, we sail for London, where we will arrive late on Tuesday, overnight on the ship, and early in the morning Wednesday, head for the airport and home. The port is huge and filled with historical points of interest, museums and famous ships and relics including (what is left of) the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship. About and hour away lies Stonehenge. Clearly this day will keep us running from attraction to attraction. The long plane ride home will feel like total relaxation.
Seeing Stonehenge was the number one priority on our “to do” list. It is about an hour and a half auto trip from where we are moored. As we often do in overseas ports, we took a car and driver, and hastened down the motorway to visit this mystical site. Our driver pointed out a number of places of interest along the way, and in virtually no time at all, we were walking the historic path to see these most famous rocks. The site is really well organized (by the British Heritage Trust) and interesting. For the price of admission, you are given a personal playback machine about the size of a walkman which takes you through the known history of Stonehenge as you walk the circle. It was a wonderful experience (albeit, freezing cold) and so well worth the time and the trip. When we had finished, our most informative driver took us back to the port area where he pointed out the many attractions, dining opportunities and terrific shopping. The people of Portsmouth have made this lovely port city a perfect place to end to what has been a most exciting cruise. Tonight is our last night at sea, we will be dining with shipmates and discussing the pleasure of this journey. Tomorrow it is time to pack and get ready for our departure for the States.
On our final night, the Captain’s farewell cocktail party gave us a chance to bid goodbye to our friendly crew and our cruising mates. He projected many photos of the various ports we had visited. It was fun to look at ourselves being tourists. It was also a bit sad knowing the camaraderie we had shared was coming to an end.
Dinner, as always superbly delicious, was a relaxing opportunity to chat with friends we will not be seeing for a while. Afterward, we enjoyed a delightful and well done dancing show by the Silversea Singers and Dancers, and then, it was bedtime; in the morning it would be packing time.
On our 10th day, we will reach the Thames, glide slowly toward London as we twist and turn. It will be, as always, breathtaking and soon after crossing under the Tower Bridge, we will be back where we started.
What a great experience, what a great ship and crew, what fun! But as the music being played for us in the show’s finale reminded us, it was “Time To Say Goodbye.”
To our fabulous Italian Captain and his great staff, molte grazie, e arrivederci!!